the entrepreneurial mother® story
According to recent statistics in the Wall Street Journal from the Centre for Women’s Business Research in the U.S.A, and given the performance of my Mother of a Business prior to the sale, I placed as one of only 3% of women-owned businesses with revenue of $1million or more…
(My guess is that percentage is a whole lot smaller again if being the only breadwinner is also taken into account)
Only 3%, is that all?
Is this the best we can do? I DON’T THINK SO!
My want is for each and every one of you to build a Business as an Asset, of size, something of value, robust enough to take to market eventually.
My quest is that you know what the Business is Worth as you are building it, so that you can duck and weave and pivot as required, to make the most of your effort to that point…
For me, it all started back in 1997 when (to quickly recap if you’re not familiar with my story)… within the space of two weeks; I resigned from my regular high-paying international management consultant job, I sold the apartment where I was living, and I had a pregnancy test confirmed. Despite the initial shock, I was forced to FOCUS on making a decision about DOing something to make this all work.
The bottomline was (and still is), that I was solely responsible for the bottomline!
There was to be NO financial support coming my way from anyone or anywhere else other than me
(except for a little from the government in the form of welfare, initially).
Low & behold, and much to my delight, once I owned the predicament I found myself in, my entrepreneurial spirit well and truly kicked in and continues to hold true.
After many, many conversations, I was invited by an ex-Consulting colleague to set up the Melbourne office of the then Sydney-based aCE Resources. 
What started out as an opportunity to be part of a growing national concern in 1997, eventually had me inheriting the shell of the existing company in 2000. What follows was rebranding and rebuilding of aCE talentNET into my Mother of a Business, to the point where it turned over 7-figures in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
(A side note: despite being Sold in 2011, this Mother of a Business is still going strong with its new owner).
Part of my plan to #buildbusiness via #exitstrategy to #sellbusiness was to take on a business partner in 2004.
The following is what she’s had to say…
You have always been an inspiration to me, and also a coach, mentor, business partner but above all a friend. You are indeed inspiring… having overcome a lot of hurdles that may have sent some women screaming, you have faced them all head-on in your interminable style. This is a testament to that as it got me thinking… congratulations.
Deirdre wrote this after I was invited and featured in the book “Secrets of Inspiring Women Exposed” as part of Secrets Exposed series of books, by Dale Beaumont...
This book gets you up close and personal with thirteen amazing women, who share the stories of what got them to where they are…
I can’t remember if I actually thanked you for sending me your book and sharing your story. I remember telling everybody else on the planet to read it for some inspiration, but I don’t think I actually told the person who mattered most – you!! I was just looking at the book now and it dawned on me. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. You’re just amazing.
I so loved your story. I smiled throughout it because I saw so many similarities with mine. But you were far quicker to sort your shit out and get back up on your feet and make the most of it. You really are amazing – a lot of strength there. You must be incredibly proud of yourself.
Honestly, your story rocks! And I know it has inspired anyone who has read it. You are one of those real people with real shit happening we can all relate to.
Once the business was well on its path, the next exciting chapter was working out how to GET OUT, maximising its FULL VALUE, freeing me up to move on to my next Add-Venture….
This was my third Mother of a Business that I built and sold. Granted, the other two were not nearly as big but the learning was equally as applicable. In fact the structure of the sale of Business #2 really helped my consideration with this one.
All of which resulted in aCE talentNET being SOLD in June 2011. Whilst 2 years in the making (and unpredictably through the GFC), the most favourable outcome was that it sold firstly, and for a fair-market price. A fabulous result, given the market at this point in time.
It was definitely the largest Asset I’d ever sold!
This in turn led me to my next “career move”, that of not only assisting other businesses to do the same, but to also specialise in working out what a Business is Worth, helping the business owner with their Exit Map and then eventually selling it as a Business Broker.
#buildbusiness via #exitstrategy to #sellbusiness
Want to know even more about what I’m currently doing and how I do it… LinkedIn is as good a place as any!
https://linkedin.com/in/denisehall/
“Do You Know What Your Business Is Worth?”
Go girl! I am so proud of you. Stet that. I am even more proud of you. It’s great to see you conquering the business world. Your unique, irrepressible optimistic personality shone through the words. Thank you.
In fact, your “Denisisms” have far more power than quoting those other folks. You really have a special voice.
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